text:
The Showstopper! (September 2014)
The time is 1922. The place is New York City–specifically, on Broadway: where the days are short, and the nights are long and filled with every kind of entertainment you can imagine. But all is not well in this dazzling, decadent world. A masked criminal is stalking the streets and haunting the theaters, leaving disaster in his wake. No stage production is safe from his devious methods of sabotage.
In the opinion of janitor Tom Wilkins, the snobbish actors and managers surrounding him are getting exactly what they deserve at the hands of the vigilante known only as "the Showstopper." But a chance encounter will soon plunge him into a deadly game of cat and mouse against a madman whose goal is nothing less than the total destruction of Broadway and all of its inhabitants. Caught in the whirlwind along with a beautiful young actress, a refined gentleman theater owner, and a rookie Irish police officer, Wilkins will have to use all his skills to expose the mastermind behind the curtain pulling all of their strings, before the lights go out on show business–and his own life–forever.
Praise for The Showstopper!
"Very interesting time and setting of New York City. Full of twists and turns. Great 1st book of this author!"
"A fast paced read that I managed to finish in a short amount of time with my crazy schedule.
Well written and full of suspense and humor. The details of the time period are well depicted and accurate. I look forward to the next book!"
"Suspenseful and fast paced. A great read including fun details of the era."
"I greatly enjoyed this novel by Kyle A. Robertson with its fast-paced plots, interesting characters, and fantastical setting. I've always enjoyed the theater vibe, despite only being there a few times, and I enjoyed the time period as well. The Showstopper despises actors and much of the story centers, of course, around show business. I couldn't help but enjoy the idea of a show stopper sabotaging plays – as awful as it would be for the performers and audience alike in real life. I found Wilkins to be very endearing despite having a few odd qualities.
The Showstopper! is a definite page turner and you won't want to miss the twist! I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading great fiction."
"Just finished my 2nd reading – suspenseful, well-developed lead characters and a nice, unexpected plot twist make for a thoroughly enjoyable, quick read – bravo!"
Camp Ferguson (December 2017)
Jack Ferguson isn't your average guy, and he knows it. So when he finds out that he's also a nascent wizard with incredibly powerful magical abilities, he just kind of goes with the flow. But he's about to get more than he bargained for when he gets dropped into a government-sponsored boot camp where young wizards are drilled into the ground by the tyrannical Scoutmaster Rudolph von Hasselberry.
To make it through the summer, Jack will have to assemble a ragtag team of rejects and outcasts, including two uncomfortably close best friends, a socially awkward genius, a driven and outspoken military brat, a sullen and sarcastic rich boy, and an underachieving geek to bring chaos to order and justice to Camp Prospero. Can they fight the power…or will they just end up fighting each other?
Jack Ferguson Strikes Back (TBA)
As most of them enter their second year of magical training at the government-sponsored Camp Prospero, Jack Ferguson and his teen wizard friends think they have a summer of smooth sailing ahead. Their enemies are gone–well, for the most part–and their vindictive, incompetent scoutmaster has been fired. But they're in for a rude awakening when the camp welcomes a new leader who's secretly a hundreds-of-years-old witch, an expert in dark magic, and whose goals include nothing short of dominion over all of existence.
Playtime is over, and Jack and his gang–with some new additions–are forced to take their resistance underground while they search for an ancient, mystical artifact that could tip the balance in the battle. But what everyone dreads–and no one more than Jack–is the realization that he himself may be more than he appears, and the true ultimate weapon.
The Road to Ithaca (TBA)
Odysseus Wyatt Turner–Wyatt to his friends, of which there aren't many–is lost at sea, stuck at a dead-end job with no prospects and no future. But that's about to change when he gets a letter from far-off Ithaca, New York, informing him that his estranged father has died and left him something in his will. Wyatt knows he has to act fast, or risk having whatever that something is yanked away by the rest of his no-good, selfish, greedy family.
His solution: enlist a motley crew, including his aloof ex-girlfriend, his surfer bro best friend, and a driver who's only in it for himself for a wild, wacky road trip across the country to claim what's rightfully his. They'll face many obstacles on their sometimes perilous, sometimes hilarious, and always ridiculous journey into the heart of America, including a grudge-bearing gang of women bikers who want Wyatt's inheritance for themselves. What they all find at the end of the trip may be much different than they expected.
Megacyte: Impact (TBA)
In the not-so-distant future, a mining operation on Earth's moon goes awry and reveals a terrifying truth: the object orbiting our planet was never natural, but is in fact a long-dormant, planet-sized extraterrestrial parasite of unknown origin. The organism latches onto the Earth and starts burrowing into its core, causing untold devastation across the globe.
Three years later, Lt. Diego "Ash" Ashford is transferred to a new survivor's base as conditions worsen on our now-hostile world and remaining pockets of humanity struggle to hang on. There, he's reunited with his superior officer and longtime friend Mj. John Anderson and his brilliant scientist wife, Dr. Ellie Cho–with whom Ash shares a complicated past. Anderson has an ambitious plan to take the fight to the aliens and stop the destruction, and wants Ash along for the ride–but infiltrating the massive construct known as the "Megacyte" is only the beginning of their ordeal.
No one is prepared for the wonders–or horrors–that await in the belly of the beast, and as simmering nationalistic tensions threaten to divide the team and undermine the mission, Ash, Ellie, and Anderson are all forced to battle demons both without and within. Their success, or failure, may determine the very future of the human race.
One thought on "Works"
EMR says:
Sounds awesome! Excited to read all your work!


Phase Line 'Birnam Wood': Vladimir Putin: Nobel Peace Prize?
The committee was most recently discredited by the award of the prize to Barack Obama, "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples," with a nomination coming only a matter of two weeks into his presidency, when he had accomplished exactly nothing. The ensuing seven months up to the time when he had the chutzpah to actually accept the prize saw him make an equal contribution to the claim.
Some of the more enlightened examples of recipients include Al Gore for the increasingly discredited claim of the global warming industry, and Yasser Arafat for his efforts toward "peace in the Middle East." Last year's recipient is the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons which has overseen the stalled Syrian transfer of its chemical weapons stockpile.
The nomination process has seen some far worse, including Joseph Stalin – twice. One of the worst for Americans in recent history was for Stanley "Tookie" Williams, founder of the Crips and convicted murderer (which only introduces the number and variety of his capital offenses), because he "co-wrote" children's books and proclaimed that he was reformed, although he refused to give evidence against gang members.
Did you catch that (emphasis mine)? Out of that purportedly august collection, any social science professor can nominate anyone. It was Cicero who perhaps first observed, as many others after him, that "there is nothing so absurd that it has not been said by some philosopher."
Somewhat deflating, wouldn't you think?
The nomination for Putin in this case comes from the International Academy of Spiritual Unity and Cooperation Among the Nations of the World for his role in the "averting of an air strike on Syria after the gas attacks in August 2013." The academy, not surprisingly, is headed by a Russian member of parliament and singer named Iosof Kobzon.
Being the leader of one of the leading nations of the world, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin makes efforts to maintain peace and tranquility not only on the territory of his own country but also actively promotes settlement of all conflicts arising on the planet.
Yes, the nomination actually says that. So Putin saved Syria's Assad, one of the major customers of Putin's arms shipments, after the use of chemical warfare agents against his own people, based on a CW system set up for them by the Russians, and prevented an air strike so as to permit Assad to continue to slaughter the Syrian people.
Putin joins fellow nominees Edward Snowden and Bradley ("call me Chelsea") Manning.
Are living in an Orwellian World, or what?
Even Orwell would be stunned. I would be more of a cynic but it's not worth the effort.
After peace nobels to Arafat and Al Bore, I'll believe anything.


Unlike many texts, I found this one to be very easy to read. It is written in a very conversational tone but also succinct and to the point. Reading the text felt like someone was giving a talk or seminar and did not feel dry at all. Many of the chapters are quite long and the book is dense with 460 pages, so being easy to read really helps. I found that it was easier to understand than academic papers published on the same topics.
The book explains concepts through real-world examples. This is great because while concepts can be hard to understand on their own, examples are easy to relate to and visualize. The examples are mostly well-known brands and most readers will know what the companies do. There are also "Strategy Capsules" scattered in each chapter that provide more depth to the relevant strategies with companies as examples.
The book contains the majority of frameworks we had discussed in class. We also read academic papers and I found the text to contain the vast majority of topics. The 8th Edition was published only in Jan 2013 so it is quite up-to-date.
Each chapter has great visuals that summarize the key takeaways in each chapter. One thing I found helpful this term was reading the text and then going over the graphs and charts right before class. It is imaginable that this book would be useful to have around on a bookshelf to look things up. This is likely more useful in an academic sense, though.
Pick up the 8th Edition of the book here.
Visit the book's official site here.


Welcome to my personal S.F. of the Internet River.
There are two things about me that remain constant.
There is no hierarchy to the order. I do both as frequently as I can get away with and I started this website so that I could share my experiences and observations via the written word.
Moment of truth– if you're looking for examples of strict fly fishing doctrine, 'how-to' instructions, or tips on all the latest gear and big fish honey holes— I'm sorry. I'm just not that sort of Fly Fishing Lady. However, I have no doubt that a quick paddle down the Internet River will lead you to many honorable and respectable sites. No worries, I paddle over to those websites as well.
I grew up camping, hunting and fishing as a way of life. I'm not a 'conversion' or someone who married into the outdoor ways. According to my parents, I had my first treble hook embedded in my forehead when I was 6 weeks old (thank you Dad) and the way I see it, that was simply a christening, a 'welcome to the fishing club' moment.
Click here to~~> Subscribe to The Outdooress by Email for real time alerts of new content.
I came across your site and won't admit how much time I spent reading your articles. Well done.
You could say you hooked a new loyal reader!
Nice job on the site , enjoyed the articles.
I am so glad that I found your facebook page…you are incredible and an inspiration!!!
@Tohner ~ Thanks. I appreciate that you came by!
Hi,just wanted to say that your a great writer,& I love your site.We are friends on FB so I really enjoy all your little comments !!! Thanks & keep up the great work!!!!!
WOW! killer website girl……….your quite the writer. it was good to see you been awhile, takes me back. oh and i dig the "river x" in washington,wyoming,and oregon. i think i know that place………anyway, keep up the good work and ill be a regular from now on.
I never tried fly fishing but I always enjoy fishing on the river when I'm in the country at may grandparents.
Some nice trouts you've got there!
Just a quick email to say hi – great blog!
I signed up for your news letter and would like to learn more about fly fishing.
Nice site, Rebecca. Good to see someone having so much fun at it.


text:
EZ-QUOTE
This Phishing Attack is Almost Impossible to Detect On Chrome, Firefox and Opera
May 2, 2017 / 1184 / 0 comments
A Chinese infosec researcher has reported about an "almost impossible to detect" phishing attack that can be used to trick even the most careful users on the Internet.
He warned, hackers can use a known vulnerability in the Chrome, Firefox and Opera web browsers to display their fake domain names as the websites of legitimate services, like Apple, Google, or Amazon to steal login or financial credentials and other sensitive information from users.
What is the best defence against phishing attack? Generally, checking the address bar after the page has loaded and if it is being served over a valid HTTPS connection. Right?
Okay, then before going to the in-depth details, first have a look at this demo web page (note: you may experience downtime due to high traffic on demo server), set up by Chinese security researcher Xudong Zheng, who discovered the attack.
"It becomes impossible to identify the site as fraudulent without carefully inspecting the site's URL or SSL certificate." Xudong Zheng said in a blog post.
If your web browser is displaying "apple.com" in the address bar secured with SSL, but the content on the page is coming from another server (as shown in the above picture), then your browser is vulnerable to the homograph attack.
There is another proof-of-concept website created by security experts from Wordfence to demonstrate this browsers' vulnerability. It spoof "epic.com" domain.
Homograph attack has been known since 2001, but browser vendors have struggled to fix the problem. It's a kind of spoofing attack where a website address looks legitimate but is not because a character or characters have been replaced deceptively with Unicode characters.
Many Unicode characters, which represents alphabets like Greek, Cyrillic, and Armenian in internationalised domain names, look the same as Latin letters to the casual eye but are treated differently by computers with the completely different web address.
For example, Cyrillic "а" (U+0430) and Latin "a" (U+0041) both are treated different by browsers but are displayed "a" in the browser address.
Hackers Steal Payment Card Data From Over 1,150 InterContinental Hotels
Cyber Attack Fears As MULTIPLE CITIES HIT With Power Grid Failures
Vulnerability Scan: But I Have Patch Management, Why Do I Need a Scan?
May 30, 2017 / 1008 / 0 comments
"I don't need a vulnerability scan of our network, everything is patched. We have patch management!" Have you thought those words, even said them aloud?…
May 24, 2017 / 878 / 0 comments
(Mac Slavo, Activist Post) The U.S. power grid appears to have been hit with multiple power outages affecting San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles….
Over 85% Of Smart TVs Can Be Hacked Remotely Using Broadcasting Signals
April 18, 2017 / 1013 / 0 comments
The Internet-connected devices are growing at an exponential rate, and so are threats to them. Due to the insecure implementation, a majority of Internet-connected embedded...
Hundreds of High-Profile Twitter Accounts Hacked through 3rd-Party App
In a large-scale Twitter hack, thousands of Twitter accounts from media outlets to celebrities, including the European Parliament, Forbes, BlockChain, Amnesty International, UNICEF, Nike Spain...
Hacker Shows How Easy It Is To Hack People While Walking Around in Public
April 4, 2017 / 1972 / 0 comments
Wi-Fi enabled devices — widely known as the Internet of Things (IoT) — are populating offices and homes in greater and greater numbers. From smartphones...
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


It's nice to see Pat delegating, as discussed in every. single. podcast.
for all of us not living in US, or too far away to join anyway, is any of these events going to be on youtube?
i know the Aquisitions game will be there (all the past ones seem to be, and bless the soul who put 'em there).
It's a complete waste if you don't go at least a little mad with power, I for one recommend going completely mad with power as soon as Pat stepped onto the plane.
In one of the podcasts, Pat relayed the story of being at an event at San Diego ComicCon, and realizing that JOSS WHEDON was walking in his general direction, and how his brain just kind of shut down and he got twitchy and panicky and yet filled with joy all at the same time.
Pat… perhaps it cannot be grokked by you, or perhaps it can, but… YOU are my Joss Whedon.
You should be the first guest on the podcast Amanda.
Can I please request that someone transcribe the podcasts? Pleeeeease?
The live conclusion?!? of Pat and Max's podcast?
That implies they are going to, you know, conclude.
I read "The Fantstic Flying Books of Morris Lessmore" to my three boys tonight at bedtime. It made me think of you. If you haven't read it, I think you would enjoy the book with Oot.
Thanks for constantly adding to the balance of joy in the world.
I hope Pat will share his feelings on receiving George RR Martin's Alfie Award for Best Novella, but I can understand if he doesn't want to stir up any Puppy trouble.
I've been following the news about this year's Hugos and new that Slow Regard wouldn't make it, but it got me sad when the official nomination statistics were published and I saw that it was very close to getting in (Slow Regard is one of the sweetest books I've ever read, and I would have loved that it had won a Hugo).
I know is not the same and that this year has been different, but I was happy when I read on George's blog what he did with the Alfies. It may not be the same kind of award, but it has a special meaning within. And Pat, you know that most of your readers love the novella. Thank you for writting such a sweet story.
Any way we can here/view the live podcast on Sunday if we can't make it to the actual event?


Glanford Curling Club, established in 1894, is a three sheet curling facility located at 3091 Homestead Drive, Mount Hope, ON with approximately 300 active members.
Our curling season runs from the beginning of October thru to mid April with daytime and evening leagues for men and ladies, plus a selection of mixed leagues and a fantastic junior program for children as young as 6 years old.
There are Club and Open Bonspiels planned thru out the season - refer to the Bonspiel Page. Link for Open Bonspiels is noted below.
New members are always welcome and participation/sign up is promoted thru our special $99 Half Year Trial Memberships - trial memberships can be started either in the fall each year or in January. Choose the one that works for you. Curling lessons are provided thru out the year at free curling clinics by our certified instructors. In addition, specialized New Curler instruction is available with our successful "Learn to Curl" Program - learn the skills necessary to have fun right away. Refer to link below for application.
Ice and hall rentals are also available through out the year - please call 905-679-9809 or email manager@glanfordcurling.com for rental rates and availibility. Try a curling party!!
Note: Trial membership is also available to returning members who have not played in our club for the past 5 years. Great way to get back into Glanford Curling and this amazing sport. New January to April Trial Memberships now available.
Dates for next clinic Jan 4 7:00PM to 9:00PM. One Day Curling Clinic for new curlers - Discover what curling is all about! Certified OCA instructors. Contact manager@glanfordcurling.com and reserve your place. Space is limited!!
Dates for next program Feb 1st to Mar 1st 7:00PM and 9:00PM (alternating). This is a 5 week course for adults new to curling or have curled for less than 3 years. Certified OCA instructors. Contact manager@glanfordcurling.com and reserve your place. Space is limited!!


text:
Casio shows four new sampling keyboards at Summer NAMM 2014
"After more than 25 years since the introduction of its first mini sampling keyboard, Casio has taken sampling keyboards to a whole new level with the launch of the Sound eFX series," said Stephen Schmidt, Vice President of Casio's Electronic Musical Instruments Division. "Casio is providing consumers with all the necessary features to create custom tracks including built-in microphones, various sampling modes and exceptional sound layering. It gives them a taste of what it's like to be a musician producing their own songs."
DOVER, NJ, JULY 17 2014 – Casio America, Inc., is hitting the stage with the launch of four new keyboards within their new line called Sound eFX – the CTK-2400, LK-170, LK-175 and LK-260. If you are a beginner with a burning passion for music, these new additions to the Casio portfolio offer a variety of sampling features that can capture audio which then can be played back from the keyboards. The result can be fun, amusing, and perhaps even inspiring. The latest digital keyboard introductions will be on display in Casio's Booth # 910 at Summer NAMM 2014, July 17-19, 2014 at the Music City Center in Nashville, TN.
The sampling function in the CTK-2400, LK-170, LK-175 and LK-260 offers fun entertainment by enabling users to take various bits and pieces of music and create a sample. Long Sampling mode can create one sound up to two seconds and the Short Sampling mode can create up to five short soundsand tones; both modes offer ten different effects to choose from. With a built-in sampling microphone, users can also use their voice to record samples, which can be integrated into the rhythm. All equipped with Casio's Step-Up Lesson system, these new keyboards have built-in songs that teach users phase-by-phase so they can learn at their own individual pace. With the LCD display, beginners can also learn both music notation and correct hand positioning, while Casio's innovative system evaluates performance so users can track their progress. Also, Casio's LK-170, LK-175 and LK-260 are all lighted keyboards which allow users to practice their song playing skills with the help of the lighted 61-Key Piano Style Touch-Response keyboard. Other features include 400 built-in tones, 150 built-in rhythms (including 20 for piano play and 55 world rhythms), 110 songs, and USB capabilities. Each model also comes with a music stand and song book. The CTK-2400 for $169.99, LK-175 for $199.99 and LK-260 for $259.99 will be available at select retailer's nationwide beginning in September. The LK-170 for $199.99 will be available exclusively at Costco beginning in September. To learn more about Casio's portfolio of electronic musical instruments, please visit www.CasioMusicGear.com.
samplingarrangercasioportablekeyboard
Casio introduces CTK-2090 and LK-175V with full sampling feature set
DOVER, NJ, August 14, 2014 – Casio America, Inc. today announced the debut of two new digital sampling keyboards – the CTK-2090 and LK-175V. These introductions are the latest in Casio's long history of developing innovative sampling keyboards for young musicians, and are available exclusively at Target retail stores.
CASIO Introduces New Keyboards at Summer NAMM 2017
Nord Releases Samples of Vintage Keyboards
180+ vintage keyboard sounds added in the Nord Sample Library With a total of 181 new sounds in the Nord Sample Library, this addition gives a whole new perspective for the Nord Electro 3 and Wave users. With sounds
Casio Supercharges the Privia with Four New Models
Roland Announces E-A7 expandable arranger keyboard with WAV import and onboard sampling
E-A7 offers global styles and sounds, along with WAV import and onboard sampling.
NAMM 2015: Casio Introduces 4 New Digital Pianos
New Celviano and Privia Models offer Concert Play, a Hall Simulator, and Casio's Proprietary AiR Technology.
Casio introduces groove products that look like the Millennium Falcon
Casio America, Inc . is pleased to announce its Trackformer series of new DJ products , which enables individuals to emulate their favorite DJs and producers, during the 2015 International CES in Las Vegas, NV, from January 6-9, 2015.
Korg releases new professional arranger workstation, the Pa4X
With the introduction of the Pa4X Professional Arranger, every aspect of Korg's industry-leading Professional Arranger series has been re-examined and improved resulting in incredible refinements to sound quality and performance capabilities.


text:
"Makes No Difference" je prvním singlem kanadské pop punkové skupiny Sum 41. Pochází z alba Half Hour of Power. Je o překonávání depresivních okamžiků života, vypořádání se s minulostí a apatii k připomínkám a názorům ostatních lidí. Tato skladba se objevila i na několika soundtrackových albech, jako například Bring it On, Out Cold nebo Van Wilder.

Video
Hlavními postavami videoklipu jsou dva mladíci, kteří se ocitnou sami doma a pozvou k sobě početnou skupinu lidí na koncert Sum 41. Dojde zde však k velkým škodám, například když jeden z návštěvníků začne ostatní kropit ze zahradní hadice, nebo když se jeden mladík rozhodne přejet Sum 41 svým autem a prorazí zeď domu. Video se rovněž proslavilo díky cameu amerického rapera DMX, jež po domě jezdí na motorové čtyřkolce. Ve scéně s melouny se krátce objevuje i bývalý bubeník Avril Lavigne Matt Brann.

Existuje však ještě druhá verze videoklipu, ve které Sum 41 přepadnou s vodními pistolemi pizzérii.

Makes No Difference v médiích
 Cover verzi skladby od Vinna Lombarda můžeme slyšet ve videohře pro Nintendo DS Elite Beat Agents z roku 2006.
 Skladba hraje na pozadí titulků animovaného snímku Bardock: The Father of Goku.
 Je zahrnuta rovněž ve hrách NHL 2002 a Dave Mirra's Freestyle BMX 2 od EA Sports.
 Pozadí scény s jízdou na snowboardech ve filmu Šílenci na prknech (Cold Out).

Alba z roku 2000
Písně v angličtině
Singly Island Records

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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text:
White Farmers Beaten in Zimbabwe
By Rod Nordland On 6/29/08 at 8:00 PM EDT
Ben Freeth did not expect to be alive today. Just after midnight this morning, the white farmer was lying face down next to a bonfire, beside Mike and Angela Campbell, his wife's parents. He had no idea where his own three small children and his wife, Laura, were, only that a marauding band of loyalists from the ruling ZANU-PF party was hitting all the white farms in their district near the town of Chegutu, about 60 miles southwest of Harare. The three had been abducted from their farm by an armed gang and brought to their base. By midnight, they had been beaten for seven hours, while their tormentors danced around the bonfire and told them they'd kill them. "I really thought we were all dead," he said. "It must have been our prayers that stopped it. I was praying, and all our friends were praying, and then they put us in a truck and dumped us beside the road outside Kadoma," a town about 25 miles away.
Why the ZANU-PF let them live isn't clear, but the reasons for the attack were plain. Freeth, who is British-born, and his in-laws, white Zimbabweans, are among a small band of white farmers who remain in the fertile agricultural area, the scene of many of the forced expropriations of commercial farms; from 300 white farmers at the beginning of the decade, only about 30 remain in that area. Nationally, the pattern is similar. Mt. Carmel Farm, which belongs to the Campbells and Freeths and produces mangoes for export and a variety of other crops on 1,200 hectares [about 3,000 acres], had been targeted for expropriation two years ago by Nathan Shamuyarira, the official spokesman for the ZANU-PF party, who arrived at their gate with an order signed by the minister of land and agriculture telling them to surrender the farm to him. Under a bill enacted by Robert Mugabe's government, land could be expropriated on an administrative order at any time if the ministry determined that it was justified. Most of the farms in their area have been handed over to Mugabe government officials, diplomats, judges and army officers, although the intention of the bill was to give land to the landless. Freeth and the Campbells fought back, however, taking their case to a tribunal of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and arguing they were the victims of racial discrimination, in response to which the tribunal issued a restraining order. "We're challenging the land reform as a totally racist thing," Freeth said from his hospital bed in Harare (I've been asked not to identify the hospital). "We have neighbors who are black farmers who have not been targeted."
On top of that, during the election campaign, Freeth wrote an open letter that was widely disseminated outside of Zimbabwe detailing the intimidation of black farm workers, many of them supporters of the opposition MDC party, by ZANU-PF party activists—who rounded them up for all-night vigils and political harangues in the Chegutu area, often meting out beatings to workers on the Mt. Carmel farm and to MDC supporters. "None of us knows what will happen next," Freeth wrote. "Dictators like Mugabe do not step down. Like Hitler, they go on till their country is in ruins and their people are in rags. World leaders tut-tut as the crimes against humanity go on unhindered; but their perpetrators live on and travel the world with impunity."
The trouble started about 3:30 p.m. yesterday, when Freeth got word that a large group of men was headed toward his in-laws' house after looting another white farm in the area, Twyford Farm. He drove over. At the gate of his in-laws' residence, about 20 black men had gathered. One of them was an army major he knew; another was Gilbert Moyo, a ZANU-PF local official who has been spearheading farm invasions in the area. "They shot twice at me through the windshield," he said, "and I just ducked in time not to be hit." Then, he said, they pulled him out of his truck and began beating him, throwing him into a ditch next to his mother-in-law and father-in-law: "They were shouting at me that I should drop my case against them with SADC." After beating all three, the men threw them into the back of their truck and drove to another white farmer's residence, that of Brian Bronkhorst. But Bronkhorst wasn't home. Then they were taken to the ZANU-PF base after dark and thrown on the ground by the bonfire. "These were the same people who were tormenting everyone before the elections," Freeth said. In addition to the three farms attacked and apparently looted yesterday, two other farms in the area have been attacked since Friday's runoff election.
As it happens, word had reached Freeth's wife, Laura, and she managed to escape with their three children, aged 3 to 8. Their middle child, 6-year-old Joshua, had his leg broken in a previous invasion of their farm when a mob rampaged through their house. Dumped in a ditch beside a road, Freeth and the Campbells made their way to a house and called for help. All three are now in the Harare hospital, where I managed to interview them by flashlight—electricity was off, as it often is in Harare, usually for half of each day. A lot of whites in Zimbabwe now are afraid to talk to the press, but not Freeth and the Campbells. "I'm glad you're here to tell people about this," he said. Freeth's eyes were swollen shut by the beating and he was covered with bruises and had a concussion, but he escaped any debilitating injury. His father-in-law, Mike Campbell, is more seriously hurt, with a broken collarbone; Mike's wife, Angela, has an arm broken in two places.
Freeth says he has every intention of returning to his farm. "I'm hanging in there," he said. "We hung in there the last eight years and we don't know what the future brings, but we're going to hang in there no matter what it brings." In his open letter before the election, he quoted another white farmer who was evicted after his home was destroyed: "'The first thing that I shall do when I am back on the farm is start digging foundations again.' And so, upon the ruins perhaps, that is the way it will have to be. But we pray the rebuilding can take place before everything is destroyed."
Mike Campbell too had written an open letter during the election, complaining that election observers were not coming out after dark, when most of the violence and intimidation took place. "We ask you to pray and send brave people and peace keepers to stop the atrocities before they get even worse," he wrote. "Maybe I write this in vain; but I write this crying."
White Farmers Beaten in Zimbabwe | World


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Charles Blankenship, Jr. /
Current page: Charles Blankenship, Jr.
Each time Charles "Chip" Blankenship Jr., receives a promotion at General Electric, his responsibility increases by a few billion dollars. Yes, that is billions.
Currently, the graduate of Virginia Tech Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) Department is the President and Chief Executive Officer of GE Appliances and Lighting, an $8 billion a year business. He quipped that he still "sleeps well because he has short nights."
Prior to this round-the-clock position, he spent time on GE's aircraft side, leading its $5 billion annual business in GE's Aviation, Commercial Engines group from 2008 until 2012. That was a step up from his 2002 assignment to assume international responsibilities for its $1 billion regional jet business. That same year GE assigned him its executive liaison role with his alma mater Virginia Tech.
From birth, Blankenship seemed destined to be a Hokie. His father, Charles Blankenship, is a 1960 and a 1962 MSE distinguished alumnus. His aunt and uncle earned graduate degrees in Virginia Tech's chemistry department, and his family spent some 25 years vacationing annually at nearby Claytor Lake.
Chip grew up in a household where his mother, also a chemist, had hung the Periodic Table in the kitchen, and he would be subjected to quizzes over breakfast before he left each day for Poquoson High School in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia.
"Academics were highly valued in our household," Blankenship said today. Although team sports were also encouraged, and he did play quarterback through his high school years, getting a "B" in physical education was okay with his parents. But he was expected to excel in chemistry.
His academic proficiency resulted in the Air Force Academy offering him a full scholarship. Virginia Tech, a state school, also wanted Blankenship, but did not offer any financial package. Noting his son was in a quandary, his father weighed in to help him make the decision by asking a single question, "Do you want a career in the military?" When his son responded, "Not really … I just want to fly and serve the obligation," then his parents nudged him towards Virginia Tech.
Blankenship knew the College of Engineering was renowned for its materials program, although his freshman adviser Frank Marvin remarked that he was the first student to show up and claim MSE as his first choice without consultation. As an undergraduate researcher he worked for Larry Taylor of the chemistry department; his research was part of the interdisciplinary materials groups that crossed the boundaries of chemistry and engineering.
Research with Taylor helped Blankenship secure a co-operative education experience with Martin Marietta Laboratories after his freshman year. At the aerospace company, he worked with a host of Ph.D.s and said he "learned as much there as he did in school."
For fun, exercise, and spending money, he took a second job while on co-op as an ice-skating teacher for pair performance training, "and the hourly wage was the same as a research scientist," Blankenship reported. His proclivity for skating started as a four-year-old, and it appeared he had a natural talent for the sport, even training at Lake Placid, a former Olympic site, and playing competitive ice hockey. But when his parents moved to the more balmy climate of the Tidewater area of Virginia, skating disappeared from his hobbies until his co-op job brought him to Baltimore.
In 1988, Blankenship received his baccalaureate degree and a marriage license. He and his wife Belinda, a graduate of William and Mary, quickly moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he had accepted an offer from Carnegie Mellon to work with its dean of engineering on a research project while he pursued his doctorate. Fate changed these plans as his adviser left to take a job with, ironically, GE Aircraft Engines.
With this wrench thrown into his plans, a few conversations took place between Chip, his father, and Ed Starke, also a Virginia Tech engineering graduate, who was then the dean of engineering at the University of Virginia. The result was Blankenship transferred from Carnegie Mellon to U.Va., and worked with Starke on aluminum lithium alloys, an alloy system that became instrumental for the second generation of the space shuttle's external tank.
Once Blankenship received his doctorate in 1992, he was a sought after commodity, with offers from such global companies as Boeing, Alcoa, McDonnell Douglas, and GE. "I chose GE because of the variety of technical challenges. I could work on everything from tungsten filaments for light bulbs to Ni-base superalloys for gas turbines," Blankenship explained.
Blankenship began his career as a staff scientist at GE's Corporate Research and Development facility in Schenectady, New York, where he recalled experiencing "a lot of long cold winters." He worked on super alloy turbine disks for aircraft engines, making them more efficient with a higher temperature capability.
When he became a program manager in 1994, he led a team of scientists and engineers developing alloys and processes for aircraft engine, land-based gas turbine, lighting systems, medical systems and diesel engine applications. His technical work resulted in 23 papers published in refereed journals and eight U.S. and European patents.
In 1996, he transferred to Aircraft Engines business in Cincinnati and held a number of technical and product management roles. One project in particular was exceptionally memorable to him. He was put in charge of the Embraer CF34 programs, creating a new 70 to 100-passenger jet. He admitted he found it to be a "bit of a challenge," but he was eager to meet the goal – bringing a family of four airplanes to the commercial airline market.
For three years, he split time between Cincinnati and Brazil where the project was taking place. In addition to his technical and business responsibilities, he also had to learn the language and the culture. His team's success was validated last year when Embraer and GE celebrated the delivery of the 1000th airplane to Republic Airways. In 2002, Blankenship assumed responsibility for all of GE's regional jet business, and this position represented his first $1 billion fiscal responsibility.
Throughout this time when he worked with GE's aircraft groups, Blankenship had the added expertise of being a licensed pilot. And when he flew commercially on Delta, he knew he was on a plane carrying one of his engines. He may have declined the Air Force Academy offer, but aviation consumed his life for many years.
In 2006, Blankenship was reassigned to a larger role with GE, serving as the general manager for GE Aero Energy, a $2.5 billion business, which manufactures and services gas turbine generator sets for power generation, pipeline, and commercial marine applications.
In 2008, Blankenship landed his first vice presidency with the company, in charge of GE Aviation's Commercial Engines group, a $5 billion annual revenue business. Four years later, the executive was moved to the appliance side of GE as its President and CEO. In 2013, GE added to his title, naming him President and CEO of GE Appliances and Lighting, with revenues now coming in at $8 billion a year.
For Blankenship, GE has always "provided new and bigger challenges…. The challenges bring a steep part to the learning curves." For more than two decades he has averaged 60 to 70 hour work weeks, leaving his remaining precious time to spend with his family that includes four boys, ranging in age from nine to 19. "Work and family is a full deck," he admitted.
When Blankenship is able to exercise, often in the form of swimming or crossfit training, he tries to include his sons in the activity. Similarly, they all enjoy family skeet shooting competitions and bird hunting.
His oldest son is enrolled at Indiana University where he is studying acting. However, he might have a Hokie left in one of the remaining offspring. As GE's liaison to Virginia Tech, he has ample opportunities to be persuasive. For example, this year he brought his youngest son to the GE Leadership Essentials Conference that GE hosts for select engineering students each year.
He has served on both the MSE and the College of Engineering Advisory Boards, improving MSE's senior design experience, bringing the VT FIRE Building to fruition, and creating the Materials Characterization Laboratory with the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science. At the college level, he was part of the team that worked on securing support for the Signature Engineering Building.
His legacy at Virginia Tech was already well established before his induction into the Academy of Engineering Excellence. And it marks the first time that a father and his son are both members, as Chip's father was inducted in 2007. His academic father (Ph.D. advisor) Ed Starke, was also inducted in 2008. The legacy may actually be a dynasty.


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Southern California Edison worker who died in…
Southern California Edison worker who died in Lancaster crash is identified
The Southern California Edison worker who died late Friday, Sept. 30, 2016, when a car struck him near 20th Street East and East Avenue K in Lancaster crash has been identified as a 56-year-old Quartz Hill man. (Image via Google Maps)
By City News Service |
PUBLISHED: October 1, 2016 at 2:05 pm | UPDATED: August 28, 2017 at 6:13 am
LANCASTER — The coroner's office today identified the Southern California Edison worker who was struck and fatally injured by a car in Lancaster in a crash that left the driver in critical condition.
The 56-year-old utility worker was identified as Quartz Hill resident Gerald Smith, according to Lt. Dave Smith of the coroner's office.
The fatality occurred at 11:55 a.m. Friday at 20th Street East and on Avenue K west of 20th Street East, according to Los Angeles County sheriff's Detective Ryan Bodily.
Smith was pronounced dead at the scene.
"Preliminary information gathered at the scene revealed Southern California Edison was working on a power box when a black BMW 740 left the roadway while traveling west on Avenue K," Bodily said.
"Avenue K is a three-lane road for westbound traffic with a posted speed limit of 50 mph at the collision scene. According to witnesses, the BMW was driving at an unknown high speed when the collision occurred. The driver of the BMW had to be rescued from the vehicle by the Los Angeles County Fire Department."
The injured motorist was taken to a hospital in critical condition, Bodily said.
The Edison worker was an Antelope Valley-based "troubleman," or first-responder, according to utility spokeswoman Susan Cox.
"Our thoughts, prayers and condolences go out to his family and friends," Cox said.
Anyone with information about the crash was urged to contact traffic investigators at the sheriff's Lancaster Station by calling (661) 948-8466.
LAPD officer could not walk away from homeless woman and granddaughter on streets of North Hills – Daily News
Dodgers' bullpen loses another late lead on a soggy day in Philadelphia – Daily News
City News Service


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Tenth District candidate Mitchell Swan is shown here with his wife, Leslie.
Special Photo
Mitchell Swan
featuredpopularurgent
Mitchell Swan answers call of duty to serve Georgia's 10th Congressional District
By Beth Slaughter Sexton Staff Correspondent
Alice Queen
Nov 6, 2021 Updated Nov 12, 2021
Editor's note: This is the latest in a series of interviews with candidates seeking the 10th District U.S. Congressional seat. For the full Q&A with Col. Mitchell Swan, go to www.rockdalenewtoncitizen.com
After 30 years in the military, Col. Mitchell Swan was poised for a life of leisure. He was moving into a new home, making plans to travel and spend time with his wife. But then duty called.
"I had several friends say, 'You've done your time. Travel. Enjoy your time with Leslie,'" Swan said. "That's a strong argument, but I realized this country wasn't established by time, but by sacrifice and maintained by sacrifice. This country will slide into the dust bin of history when good men and women refuse to sacrifice."
Swan is a Republican seeking to win Georgia's 10th District Congressional seat now held by Rep. Jody Hice, who is not seeking re-election to that post, but is now running to become Georgia's next Secretary of State.
In 2016, Swan wrote a book, "Broken Arrow: Christ's Last Stand," which addresses both the spiritual and physical warfare threatening today's world. The following is an excerpt: "The greatest, freest nations on earth were never built upon the ideals of kings, bankers, scholars or lawyers. They were established upon the principles of Jesus Christ. Nowhere is this truer than Western Civilization. While the birth, ministry, death and resurrection of a Jewish carpenter over 2,000 years ago effected the world more completely than any occurrence since creation, the continued inspiration and fortitude of Christ's teachings require the lively conviction of all faithful followers. Today — by retreating Christian devotion and leadership—the influence, prosperity, and individual freedoms enjoyed by western nations are approaching the brink of ruin. This is a real threat. But there is a solution. And it starts in America."
"I had no ambition of running for office," Swan said. "I wrote a geopolitical book... People were calling me and saying, 'Mitch, you've got to get in the race.' The day that good men are unwilling to sacrifice is when this country falls apart."
Swan referenced the anger and fear that are becoming so prevalent in society and said, "That's how Hitler came to power."
He said his military training puts him in a strong position to lead.
"A superior leader can motivate people on those virtues we hold dear — individual liberty, justice and belief that there's one system of government," he said. "...That's why the Patriot Act so concerns me. Anyone who tries to affect government can be a 'terrorist.'"
Swan says he is greatly concerned about the erosion of tolerance in the country.
"In my 30 years, I prided myself on defending a nation where we could live the way we wanted to live — but I get that right, too," he said.
The retired U.S. Marine was born in Boston, Mass., into a family of entrepreneurs, saying both his parents were "self made." His mother had a bed and breakfast business on Cape Cod and his father had a furniture store in Wellesley.
"I understand the struggles of small businesses," Swan said.
He went to Marquette University's School of Business, graduating in 1987, and then completed his MBA at Chaminade University in Honolulu, HI, as well as graduating from the U.S. Naval War College.
Swan went to Marquette planning to pursue a career in business, but then his work with the school's Naval ROTC program put him on a different path.
"I found I enjoyed the military," he said. "... What I really enjoyed the most is mentoring others." As he grew in rank and had more troops under his command, Swan said he always told them it was their job to help those under them to climb up the ladder and not the job of those with lower rank to push them toward the top.
"So many people are 'me, me, me,'" he said. "Then you see great leaders like (the late) Truett Cathy. He wanted to create a great company where all his people could succeed. I'm running for the 10th District so that the 10th District can have an abundant life. We are in a culture war. The very first rule of defensive warfare is hardening your position."
Swan said he is working to help the counties that make up the 10th District come together to establish those standards, such as what children will be taught in school or the issue of mask mandates.
"For our culture here, is the 10th District going to be a district of tearing down statues?" he asked. "Also, for defunding police? So even if things change around us, we determine our own lifestyles and our own destinies."
Also while he was at Marquette, Swan met the woman he would marry many years later. Mitchell and Leslie Swan met in 1984, but it would be years later before they wed. He said she went off to pursue her "dream career," and he was going to serve three years in the Marines before they married. But three turned into 30, and while he says she has been his "best friend and advocate" for many years, the two got back together and finally married in 2015. Swan worked with his wife in operating a wealth management company in Watkinsville before stepping down to run in the 10th District race for 2022. Swan had an earlier foray into politics when he unsuccessfully ran in 2014 for the same seat.
Upon his graduation from Marquette, Swan was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps. In 1995, following eight years of Fleet Marine Force duty, which included service in the 1990 Gulf War, Swan was transferred to the Navy Supply Corps School in Athens to serve as lead instructor for its Marine officer students.
His three children were born at Athens Regional Hospital. In 1999, Swan resigned from the Marines to raise his family in Athens and take a civilian job in the financial industry. However, he joined the Marine Reserves shortly before 9-11 — a decision that resulted in multiple activations and deployments, including Iraq in 2004. In 2008, upon promotion to full-bird colonel, Swan was activated to serve at U.S. Pacific Command in the Operations Directorate for two years. Following that, he was re-assigned to U.S. Central Command in the Strategies, Plans and Policies Directorate for another two years.
Swan completed active duty with U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Fla., as a policy developer for the Middle East, as well as the Pacific. His experience includes crafting and implementing U.S. Policy and leading crisis operations at the highest levels. Swan officially retired from the Marine Corps in 2017. His awards include Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medals, Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals and Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals.
However, his life has not been without hurt and loss. During the birth of his youngest child, daughter Samantha, 21, there was a problem with the cord wrapped around her in the womb, which resulted in 25 minutes lapsing before she took her first breath. She has cerebral palsy and cannot walk, talk or feed herself.
"That experience took me from faith in God to belief," Swan said. "She's my angel. I have a lot of empathy with parents with special needs children and young adults trying to live independently." He also talks about those injured in military service and how to help them.
In referencing how there seems to be so few willing workers these days and how businesses are begging for employees, Swan said he is "offended."
"My daughter would do anything, and I would pay anything for my daughter to be able to walk and push a mop," he said.
Swan's military service took him away from home a good bit and his deployments were hard on the family.
Andrew, his youngest son, was a standout track athlete who graduated from Athens Academy in 2017.
"He was all signed up to go to Rhodes College and run track for them," Swan said. "He lit into me and said, 'I feel like you chose the Marine Corps over me, you missed a lot.' I said, 'Hey, buddy. We have the rest of our lives as men to make up for that.' I retired on June 1, 2017, and June 3, he had an accident and fell off his skateboard. He succumbed to his injuries."
Andrew Swan died June 5, 2017.
"The lesson there is don't live in the future, but live now," Swan said. "So many say it's not a good time right now... I don't know how many tomorrows our country has."
Swan said 400 people came to pay their respects to his late son and that because of his faith that "we are eternal beings, I'm going to see him again."
Swan's oldest son, Matthew lives in Atlanta and is an emergency medical technician.
Col. and Mrs. Swan recently moved to Good Hope and are active in St. Stephen's Anglican Catholic Church. Swan said he was raised by Baptists, attended the Presbyterian Church and supported the chaplains when he was in the Marines. He has taught Bible study and completed his third church build with Carpenters for Christ. Swan is a former board member of Athens College of Ministry.
A biblical scholar, student and Marine, Swan has a special take on America's past and future.
"What happened in Afghanistan was the worst U.S. policy in history," he said. "They mis-sequenced that and think they did it deliberately. If you support our troops, you've got to give them the best support... I just don't think the people understand what we're in for. The dominoes are going to fall after Afghanistan... In 1979, Iran was our best ally in the Middle East. The women wore skirts and dresses, drove convertibles. They had the highest literacy rate in the region."
Swan explained how Russia began inroads into Iran prompting the shah to ask the U.S. for help, but America declined, saying it did not want to "take on Russia."
"Then the ayatollahs took over," Swan said. "Now Iran is our sworn enemy and aligned with Russia. They're building nuclear weapons from Russia that Russia got from us because we sold them the mineral rights."
As a candidate for U.S. Congress, Swan said the U.S. is in a "battle to restore the American spirit and the values that built and sustained this country."
"We need leaders to fight for us in Congress because our identity as Americans is shifting under our feet thanks to politicians who no longer cherish the traditional ideals we love of individual liberty, justice and self-government," Swan said.
Candidates running for the 2022 U.S. Congressional District 10 seat are being asked to answer a questionnaire posed by the Citizen. A sampling of Swan's answers is below. The full Q&A transcript can be found under Election 2022 on our website www.rockdalenewtoncitizen.com.
Why are you a Republican?
I would consider myself a Christian first, a conservative second, and a Republican third. I am part of the Republican Party because our platform is one of liberty, security, and opportunity.
What led you to get involved in politics?
When I retired from the Marine Corps, my friends told me I should take it easy and enjoy retirement. But I couldn't sit back as the United States is falling apart. I am running for Congress to help get the United States moving in the right direction again.
Do you think U.S. businesses should pay more in taxes? If so, how much more and why?
No. Our economy was the strongest in history after the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Amid the current economic crisis, we should adopt pro-growth policies, not those that would hamstring small businesses and ship jobs to China.
Do you support the current open border immigration system? What do you think about a border wall? Please explain your answers.
A nation without borders is no nation at all. President Biden's refusal to secure the border is a dereliction of his duty to uphold the rule of law. We should continue to build the wall, secure our borders, and put a stop to the violent crime, deadly drugs, and human trafficking flooding across the border into our communities.
Regarding Critical Race Theory, do you think promoting it will help or hurt efforts to improve race relations in the U.S? Please explain your answer. Also, should it be taught in America's public schools? Why or why not?
Critical Race Theory is corrosive to the moral fiber of this nation. It has no place in our children's schools, our nation's military, or any other American institution. Critical Race Theory teaches that we should view all aspects of society through the lens of race. For so long as we allow left wing propagandists to draw divisive lines between us, we can never hope to heal and unify the American people.
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Caesar Hatcher
Angeline Hatcher
Phyllis Hatcher Ministries
Leslie Swan
I have been editor of the Rockdale Citizen since 1996 and editor of the Newton Citizen since it began publication in 2004. I am also currently executive editor of the Clayton News Daily, Henry Daily Herald and Jackson Progress-Argus.
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POLL: Have you ever donated blood?
January is the beginning of a new year and the perfect time to start the year celebrating National Blood Donor Month.
Due to increased seasonal illnesses during the winter months and inclement weather conditions, donations of blood and platelets decline, and demand increases. The American Red Ross encourages everyone can donate to continue their donations or for those who have never donated, to make an appointment. Blood donation is safer than ever before and saves lives. Millions of people including cancer patients, organ recipients, and victims of accidents rely on blood donations from people like you and me.
#NationalBloodDonorMonth
To find the closest location to donate blood, go to www.redcross.org/give-blood.html
This is not a scientific poll — results reflect only the opinions of those voting.
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Yes. I gave recently and I need to wait to donate again.
No. I've never given blood before.
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WOM Features – Dragonforce / Borknagar / Oceans
Agosto 5, 2019 Fernando Ferreira	0 Comments Borknagar, Dragonforce, Melodic Black Prog, Oceans, Post-metal, Power Metal, Prog Metal
DRAGONFORCE LAUNCHES VIDEO FOR FIRST SINGLE, "HIGHWAY TO OBLIVION"
On September 27th, DragonForce will unleash their 8th full-length album, "Extreme Power Metal", worldwide. Produced in Los Angeles, California by Damien Rainaud at Mix Unlimited, "Extreme Power Metal" was also recorded, in part, on guitarist Herman Li's livestream channel on Twitch (www.twitch.tv/hermanli) with participation from the fans. For a first preview of the album, a video for the new single, "Highway to Oblivion", can be viewed below:
"Highway to Oblivion" will also appear today July 30th as a playable level in AUDICA (www.audicagame.com), a virtual reality "rhythm shooter" from Harmonix, the makers of Rock Band and Dance Central. Armed with a pair of rhythm blasters, players will be able to step into a cosmic arena and smash targets to the beat of the song. A standard edit of the song will be available as well as the intensely challenging full-length version. Clocking in at just under 7 minutes, the full-length version of "Highway to Oblivion" on Expert will be the most difficult song on the soundtrack to date. A flawless run with precise accuracy, timing, and form will earn players one of the coveted top spots on AUDICA's global leaderboards. For a preview of gameplay, follow Harmonix's Twitter and Facebook pages.
Extreme Power Metal will be available as a CD Digipak, 2LP+DL and digital.
Europe & South America: Pre-Order the album here: https://dragonforce.lnk.to/ExtremePowerMetal
See below to pre-order the album in other territories:
USA: https://metalblade.com/dragonforce/
Japan: http://wardrecords.com/page/special/dragonforce/
BORKNAGAR release first single "The Fire That Burns" taken from new album "True North"
Norway's avantgarde Black Metal pioneers and innovators BORKNAGAR arise at their most spirited and resplendent on their 11th studio album, "True North", which is going to be out on September 27th, 2019. Today BORKNAGAR release the single "The Fire That Burns" as a first impression from the upcoming album.
Øystein G. Brun comments: "Finally, the very first single from our upcoming album "True North" is unleashed upon the world, entitled "The Fire that Burns". On the verge of releasing our 11th album, we're naturally bound to reflect some about our lengthy past, all the music we have created and all the fights we have fought. In the name of music. Still we are here after 25+ years, stand firm on our musical visions and ready to boot up for yet another musical journey – wherever that may lead in this vast and wondrous world. So when deciding the first song to be released, "The Fire That Burns" was an easy pick. Not because the song represents "True North" as a whole, neither because of the song represents some sort of musical peak. "True North" is way too diverse for such a pick and please concept. But rather it was chosen because of the nature of the song. Musically it's true towards the musical heritage of BORKNAGAR, and last but not least, the song deals with "The Fire That Burns". Forever. The very spark that makes life a greater probability than death. Enjoy and rock on!"
Listen to "The Fire That Burns" here:
Next to the Digital Download and the LP version (black and colored), "True North" will be available in Europe as limited CD Digipak (+2 additional bonus tracks) in its first pressing run.
BORKNAGAR – "True North" tracklisting:
Thunderous
The Fire That Burns
Wild Father's Heart
Mount Rapture
Into The White
Wild Father's Heart (Instrumental Demo Version) * Bonus Track
Up North (Demo Version) * Bonus Track
"True North" is available for pre-order now here: https://Borknagar.lnk.to/TrueNorth
OCEANS - "Cover Me In Darkness" out now, music video for ALESSIA CARA cover 'Scars To Your Beautiful' feat. CELLAR DARLING's Anna Murphy online
Post death metallers OCEANS have released their brand new cover EP entitled "Cover Me In Darkness" via Nuclear Blast.
The EP is now available via all known download/streaming platforms: http://nblast.de/Oceans-CoverInDarkness
In celebration of the release, the band also put the official music video for the opening track, the cover of ALESSIA CARA's 'Scars To Your Beautiful' featuring Anna Murphy (CELLAR DARLING) online. Watch the video here:
»Cover Me In Darkness« comes after the band's widely popular debut EP »Into The Void« (see music videos below) which was released earlier this year when the band signed the record deal with Nuclear Blast, and includes cover versions for songs by ALICE IN CHAINS, RADIOHEAD, DEFTONES and ALESSIA CARA.
The band is currently working on their debut full-length album.
Commented singer Timo Rotten: "Some time ago I saw some girl on Instagram singing Creep by Radiohead with her acoustic guitar. I was devastated. It was so emotional that I totally lost it. So we came up with the idea of doing this whole EP consisting of song-covers with really moving lyrics. Each of us chose one song to put on the EP, so it really represents OCEANS in its entirety. I think it's the perfect appetizer for our debut album, to say the least. Some moments on this EP really have me at my darkest."
»Cover Me In Darkness« tracklist:
01. Scars to Your Beatiful (ALESSIA CARA) feat. Anna Murphy
02. My Own Summer (DEFTONES)
03. Creep (RADIOHEAD)
04. Would (ALICE IN CHAINS)
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Ready for the travel resurgence are a new class of guidebooks geared toward travelers hungry for more meaningful trips in the future. (Courtesy CrushGlobal)
Travel News and Analysis
The New Age of Travel Guidebooks
From a cult-favorite publisher launching a national-parks series to a Kevin Costner–narrated app, these five new releases are reinventing the traditional field guide
Heather Greenwood Davis
Never underestimate the lure of an escape, especially in trying times. Road trips are on the rise. Local travel is more popular than ever. And bucket-list planning is once again in full swing.
Ready for the travel resurgence are a new class of guidebooks geared toward travelers hungry for more meaningful trips in the future. While such publications celebrate destinations, they also shine the light on subjects like politics, history, culture, and race, making readers the informed people we should be when we visit.
From a city guidebook publisher branching out to national parks to a new Kevin Costner–narrated app featuring forgotten stories of the West, these five releases are taking the act of travel into a whole new age.
The Deep Thinker: Wildsam National-Parks Series
(Courtesy Wildsam)
The idea: Why base an entire guide on one viewpoint when you can have up to 20 different perspectives covering everything from overlooked history to land rights? From the publisher of these cult-favorite city and road-trip guides comes this new series on national parks ($20 each). "I wanted a book that felt like the magic of a place," says founder and editor-in-chief Taylor Bruce. To do that, he sought to replace the "dry, exhaustive, and disposable" guidebooks with something that feels more in tune with the holistic nature of how people experience these popular American destinations.
The difference: The series reimagines the genre with compact and beautifully bound titles that will delight slow-travel fans. Essential details and logistics are shared up front, but interviews and stories turn each book from an information delivery system to an intriguing read. Expect insights from locals who know the parks well and highlight their complexities.
The Grand Canyon edition, which came out in July, includes interviews with people impacted by the landscape: environmentalist Jack Pongyesva speaks to how tourism has often meant exclusion for the area's Hopi, landscape painter Bruce Aiken shares how living 16 miles from the South Rim for more than 30 years shaped his work, and cultural astronomer Bryan Bates chronicles his experiences studying the impact of constellations on Native culture. Essays and poems help establish an intimate sense of place.
Must have: Pair the national-parks guides with Wildsam's road-trip kit.
The Modern Remake: 'The ABC Travel Green Book'
(Courtesy Martinique Lewis)
The idea: Between the 1930s and 1960s, Victor Hugo Green's The Negro Traveler's Green Book offered African Americans safe routes through places where racist ideas and Jim Crow laws held sway. This new iteration, released in August, takes it a step further with the goal of connecting African diaspora travelers to Black communities, businesses, and more around the world ($25 for the paperback; $10 for the e-book).
The difference: This comprehensive guidebook by Martinique Lewis, president of the Black Travel Alliance, provides extensive listings for everything from Black-owned hotels to Black ski clubs. Expect to find annotations of personal or reported insights, like how Lewis felt as one of few Black visitors she encountered on a trip to Iceland, and tips, such as where to get your hair braided in South Korea. From sharing information about Afro-Ecuadorians communities in South America to Black expat groups in Amsterdam, the book also offers a path to connection and fills a gap for an often overlooked segment of travelers.
"It's connecting us back to our roots," explains Lewis. Unlike guidebooks centered around a white explorer experience, The ABC Travel Green Book takes a different approach. "The Spanish and French weren't the only people exploring the earth. Africans were, too, and this book helps us celebrate that, in places people wouldn't normally think Black people are."
Next up: Lewis is working on an app, set to launch next year, that will make it even easier to take the information with you as you get back out there.
The Intuitive Storyteller: HearHere
The idea: Inspired by the joy that cofounder and former North Face president Bill Werlin had as a child traveling through Colorado while his grandfather narrated along the way, this GPS-generated audio guide shares stories related to where you are at any given moment. Your phone's navigational system and a tailored list of interests combine to bring the forgotten accounts of the places you're driving through to you as you go (from $7 for a weeklong subscription).
The difference: Unlike audio guides that solely focus on location, these narratives about people and popular culture will likely attract travelers who weren't guidebook purchasers in the past. "Where a guidebook will help you learn about the place that you are visiting, HearHere is all about exploring the history and land you're traveling through," explains Woody Sears, its cofounder and CEO. "Think of HearHere as bringing to life the historical markers you pass every day on the highway." The audio guides launched in August with entries for three states (California, Oregon, and Washington) but more than 10,000 tales, covering all 50 states, are planned for release by summer 2021.
Simply prioritize your favorite topics from a list of predefined interests (including history, sports, colorful characters, and natural wonders) in the app before heading out on your road trip. Every time you arrive in a destination with a story that matches your preferences, you'll get a notification on your phone. From former basketball legend Phil Jackson narrating the history of the Beartooth Highway as you make your way into Yellowstone National Park to a profile on groundbreaking Danish photographer Benedicte Wrensted and the Shoshone people she photographed in Idaho, the stories are both entertaining and informative.
Fun fact: Actor Kevin Costner is an investor and narrates some of the entries.
The Community Connector: CrushGlobal's Road-Trip Guides
(Courtesy CrushGlobal)
The idea: Unlike a typical guidebook that offers recommendations by category, this new series of road-trip guides (from $30) presents travelers with a fully outlined, researched, and scheduled route, complete with directions and COVID-19 protocols. It also highlights Black- and people-of-color-owned businesses along the way.
The difference: "Guidebooks I've read in the past often felt outdated and didn't speak the language that appeals to me or my travel interests," says founder Kristin Braswell. "Travel is not one-size-fits-all, and guidebooks should reflect that." For Braswell, the confluence of an uptick in road-trip interest this summer and her desire to make domestic travel experiences more inclusive were the driving forces behind these itineraries. "When the demands for more allyship and visibility in both the travel industry and beyond really started to become louder this year, I decided to create a business model that would allow people to support an initiative that helps put revenue into the hands of Black-owned businesses around the country, and to diversify one of the oldest American traditions, the road trip, into a travel experience that is inclusive for all people," she says.
The by-region series provides intel on everything from where to sleep (usually a choice of two researched options in each location along the route) to what to eat (like the best soul food in Atlanta). Along with taking the guesswork out of trips, the goal is to drive revenue back into the hands of people in the tourism industry, from guides to chefs, who have been impacted by the instability of 2020.
Book it: A customized tour is also available.
The Underrepresented Amplifier: Hello Ranger Community
The idea: Last year, Bradley and Matt Kirouac were the cohosts of the Parklandia podcast, which documented their journey of becoming full-time RVers who traveled across the country to visit national parks. When that came to an end, due to the pandemic, the couple decided to take their love for national parks in a new direction—well, more like three directions. In May, they launched the Hello Ranger website as a resource created by and for the national-park-loving community, with a focus on underrepresented voices and issues. By mid-June, they'd also launched a reimagined version of their original podcast. Then, in September, they added a social app that allows users to share stories, photos, and memories and connect with like-minded members.
The difference: What sets the Kirouacs apart is the diverse nature of their community: oft-ignored voices get megaphones on important people and issues, with stories that range from what it's like being non-binary on trails to how Black outdoor leaders are attracting more diversity through social media. "NPS is to help you #FindYourPark, ours is to help you #FindYourAmbassador," the site reads. Contributors are those ambassadors, and they represent different areas of expertise, from service topics like budget travel and RVing to important subjects like visiting parks with a disability.
Extra reading: As a gay couple, setting off across the country after spending more than a decade in Chicago presented some challenges, but it didn't take long for the Kirouacs to find a sense of belonging.
Lead Photo: Courtesy CrushGlobal
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How to Celebrate the Holidays in a National Park
By: Emily Pennington
Should Gateway Arch Be a National Park?


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Horse & Hound Awards 2016: NAF Five Star PROFEET Farrier of the Year
Horse & Hound 4 August, 2016 10:20
NAF Five Star PROFEET Farrier of the year
2016 winner: Paul Woodall
This award acknowledges the difference the knowledge and effort of a unique farrier has made to an equine or equines' performance or wellbeing. Watch Paul collecting his award on the night.
NAF Five Star PROFEET Farrier of the year nominees
Lewis Knaggs, 25
Farriery career: four and a half years.
Why did you decide to become a farrier? I loved metalwork and had always been around horses — and loved them too.
2016 highlight? Winning the hunter and shire shoeing classes at the Kent County Show and being named Kent's best farrier and show champion. I was so pleased. You work hard and hope it pays off in the long run.
A moment that made you smile… Shoeing two miniature driving stallions on one of the hottest days of the year — such hard work!
Top tip for a budding farrier? Work hard and put the time in; the more you put in, the more you get out. You reap the rewards.
What the client says… "Lewis has shod my horses for four years, hand-making my heavyweight hunter shoes, and has turned brittle misshapen feet into well-balanced ones, so much so that he was complimented on his shoeing at the Royal International 2016." Danielle French
Luke Cain, 27
Farriery career: five years.
Why did you decide to become a farrier? I'd always been into horses but never had my own when I was a kid — this was a good way of being involved.
2016 highlight? There was a Spanish horse that was on the brink of being put down with laminitis but he made a full recovery. That was really pleasing.
A moment that made you smile… Being dragged around the field by a donkey I was trying to catch. I got the headcollar on but he decided to go and I went with him. I did get his feet done, after he'd been calmed down with a packet of ginger biscuits.
Top tip for a budding farrier? You have to have a sense of humour. If you do, with most things, you'll get to the other side.
What the client says… "Luke has been amazing with my horses. He has been a fount of knowledge and help with my pony that has equine metabolic syndrome and has worked wonders with my rescue pony." Lydia Lyttle
Sammy O'Gara, 26
Farriery career: three and a half years.
Why did you decide to become a farrier? I've always had horses and my mum's been breeding them all her life. When I first saw a horse being shod, at the age of five, I said: "That's what I want to be."
2016 highlight? I've had a few with sidebone, which I've managed to get back into work. People can't praise you enough when you get their horses sound.
A moment that made you smile… A friend of mine was mounted by a Shetland stallion whose feet he was doing. He got some stick for it, but he got the feet done!
Top tip for a budding farrier? It's not really work for me, it's like a hobby. They used to take the mickey at school but now the boot's on the other foot. If you don't love it, you won't stick at it.
What the client says… "He is an absolutely fantastic farrier: professional, thorough — and never late. He is extremely calm; firm but gentle, giving our horses the best experience possible." Jaimie Brown
Paul Woodall, 54
Farriery career: 30 years.
Why did you decide to become a farrier? I'm interested. It's all about levers and pulleys in horses' feet, the angles and conformation and getting them right — it's a challenge.
2016 highlight? There was a horse that was going to be put down with suspensory problems and I got it right. That was a real buzz.
A moment that made you smile… I was asked to trim a cow's feet when I was an apprentice. The owner said it was quiet, but it pulled back and I got my ear full of the unmentionable.
Top tip for a budding farrier? Have the courage of your convictions. You've done the training and know what things should look like; don't be persuaded by people who think they know better.
What the client says… "Paul is highly skilled and knowledgeable, especially as a corrective farrier. He is a kind, patient and lovely man. His best interest is in the horse and it is a genuine interest, not about profits." Francesca Emmott
About our sponsor: NAF Five Star PROFEET
NAF Five Star PROFEET is dedicated to supporting healthy hooves for horses at all levels and supports of some of the best farriers in the country. As part of the brand's commitment to stamping out bad feet we have chosen to show our recognition for the hard work that goes into maintaining our horses and ponies feet by sponsoring this award as exceptional nutritional care combined with excellent farriery is by far the winning formula


Tickets go on sale Friday, August 10 at 10am!
Peabo Bryson, the legendary voice of love, is back, and music has never been happier. Peabo is not just "back", he is back and collaborating with powerhouse producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis for his 21st album titled "Stand For Love. This music dream team has delivered something music and music fans didn't know was missing… R&B HITS.
Je'Caryous Johnson & Snoop Dogg present "Redemption of a Dogg"